INEC Office Burnt In Abia
ACNNtv
Updated May 10, 2021
Fire has burnt the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State.
The INEC Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said this via a statement he gave on Monday, saying that the commission held a meeting to discuss a wide range of issues, including the distribution of report from the state.
He said INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (INEC) for the State, Dr. Joseph Iloh, gave the report that the recently renovated office has been burnt.
“The incident occurred late on Sunday night, 9th May 2021. There are no casualties on the part of our staff on guard duty but the building was virtually destroyed,” the statement partly read.
“Apart from furniture items, all electoral materials and office equipment were destroyed. The matter has been reported to the police for investigation.”
The commission laments that the recent incident in Abia State is one of too many, noting that its facility has been attacked in the south-eastern state in recent times.
On December 13, 2020, the INEC office in Aba South was completely burnt down while that of Arochukwu was vandalised and ransacked in October 2020.
As he described the vandalised facilities as national assets, the electoral umpire said there is need for protection.
Hence, the Commission said it would be convening an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week to discuss this disturbing trend.
It also reassured Nigerians that all activities in relation to the ongoing expansion of voter access to Polling Units and preparations for the resumption of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) as well as all scheduled elections will proceed as planned.
Source: Channels TV
